


Worst Case Scenario

by GretchenSinister



Category: Mulan (1998), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 21:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20628077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "So I was watching Mulan, and at one point during his dramatic intro, Mushu says, “I am the guardian of lost souls”. There’s also the whole fact that he’s been demoted from being a guardian dragon and such too. So, I really just want Mushu interacting with the Guardians in some way. Could be way back when, could be modern days, whatever you feel like."I remember from Mulan that an ancestor who’s clearly been beheaded sarcastically thanks Mushu in reference to his guardianship of the family, so I drew on that in this little scene.





	Worst Case Scenario

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 12/10/2014.

Sandy flew low over the Chinese landscape, brightening his cloud so that any beings capable of seeing him, would see him. There were a few dragons he liked to talk to when he found them, and there were enough guardian spirits around in this part of the world that he didn’t have to worry about attracting any negative attention.  
  
He swooped low over the Fa house, trying to get a glimpse of Mushu. He had met the guardian dragon of the family a few decades ago, in the midst of a situation that had been troubling the sleep of the entire extended family, down to the youngest cousin. Thanks to some quick thinking (and Sandy being talked into a prophetic dream) everything had worked out for the best. After that, Sandy and Mushu had become friends, of a sort. Sandy enjoyed hearing about his exploits and the scrapes he got his family into and out of, much to the distress of the other guardians of the Fa family, and Mushu was glad to have an audience that wasn’t only reluctantly approving.  
  
Tonight, though, to Sandy’s surprise, he didn’t see or hear Mushu anywhere. Sandy frowned. There didn’t seem to be any ongoing trouble, and it wasn’t like Mushu to ignore someone who would pay attention to him. But, then again, it was often easy for spirits to miss each other. Sandy was well aware that his own schedule was somewhat erratic.  
  
He had readied himself to move on when he spotted a very small flicker of dragon fire at the edge of the Fa property. Mushu’s flame had never been so small, and yet…  
  
The dragon fire did indeed belong to Mushu, or, well, at least it seemed to. Sandy formed as many questioning symbols as he could with his sand, looking down–down!–at the tiny dragon who looked just like Mushu, but much, much smaller.  
  
“I know, I know,” said the tiny dragon with Mushu’s voice. “But if you think about it, it’s not that strange! I have to be small to fit in the shrine, and I thought, maybe I should try seeing the world that way. Anyway, it’s very stuffy in the shine, and I had to get out on my own.”  
  
_So you were huddling in a corner of the garden?_  
  
“Come on, Sandy! You caught me when I was just starting out!”  
  
Sandy gave him a stern look and shaped more questions.  
  
“Okay, okay. So this might not have exactly been my idea in the first place.”  
  
Sandy waited.  
  
“And really, I don’t see why the ancestors were so mad. You’d think they didn’t like being ancestors or something.”  
  
Sandy settled into his cloud and looked expectantly at Mushu.  
  
“All right, you really want to hear the whole story? Nah, that’d take too long. But the short version is that I maybe kind of sort of took some actions that resulted in someone getting beheaded. One of the Fa family, to be precise.”  
  
Sandy threw a great many questions into the air, all of which Mushu ignored. He slumped on the ground. “And so I’m not a guardian in the shrine anymore. And I’ll never be again. I knew that’s what I should’ve expected.” He rested his head in his claws. “I wasn’t trying to get him beheaded. Of course I wasn’t. Guess I just tried to bite off more than I could chew.”  
  
_Are you sure you’ll never be a guardian again?_ Sandy asked.  
  
“Beheading’s permanent, you know that?”  
  
Sandy shrugged. _I’m trying to evaluate a worse case._  
  
Mushu blew a tiny flame from his nostrils. “I promise I’ll let you know if anything works out, then.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> t-ggs96 said: Cute idea!
> 
> bowlingforgerbils said: Mushu! I like the idea of him and Sandy being friends. :)


End file.
